Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-10-17

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the number of households in the US by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The bar graph represents data about number of househoulds in the US, measured in millions, accross five annual income groups in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Overall, housholds earning $100,000 or more increased considerably over the period and become the largest group by 2015. In the contrast, number of households earning between $75,000 to $99,999 remained smallest group in all years. The figures for other households income categories fluctuated slightly.

From the year 2007, approxmately 25 million households earned less than $25,000, while 27 million households earned between $25,000 to $49,999 category. The figure at 21 million households earned $50,000 to $74,999, whereas below 15 million households earned $75,000 to $99,000. The almost 30 million households earned $100,000 or more, respectively.

From the year 2011, the number of households earned less than $25,000 remained relativaly stable at around 29 million, while the $25,000 tp $49,999 group increased by 30 million hoseholds. Meanwhile, the $50,000 to $74,999 and $75,000 to $99,999 both groups remained stable at 21 million and 14 million, whereas the $100,000 or more earned households slightly decreased to approxmatily 27 million.

By the year 2015, the number of eaned $100,000 or more had the highest households around 32 million, while earned less than $25,000, $50,000 to $74,999 and $75,000 to $99,999 group was remained same to previous year 2011. Meanwhile, $25,000 to $49,999 group slightly decreased at 26 million households.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main overall pattern: the $100,000-or-more group rises and becomes largest in 2015, while $75,000–$99,999 is the smallest category. You also cover all three years and most income bands, so the response addresses the task well. Some details, however, are inaccurate or unclear: in 2011, the $25,000–$49,999 group is about 29.5 million, not 30 million as a precise increase; in 2015 it is about 28.5 million, not 26 million. The $50,000–$74,999 group stays near 21 million, rather than being described as unchanged from 2011 without noting its earlier stability. The overview is useful, but more accurate comparisons would strengthen it further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2007, 2011 and 2015. This makes the information easy to locate, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Meanwhile” and “By the year 2015” help signal progression. However, the year-by-year approach leads to some repetition of categories and makes comparisons across years less direct. Several sentences also have unclear relationships between their parts, such as “The figure at 21 million households earned…” and “The almost 30 million households earned…”. Use clearer subject-led comparisons and connect related trends across years to make cohesion less mechanical and references more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “income groups,” “increased considerably,” “remained stable” and “slightly decreased,” and the income categories are generally identifiable. However, spelling errors and awkward collocations are noticeable, for example “househoulds,” “accross,” “relativaly” and “approxmatily.” Some phrases are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “earned households” and “in the contrast.” Repeated use of “number of households” and “group” limits flexibility. Aim for accurate, natural reporting phrases such as “the number of households earning…” and “by comparison,” and check spelling carefully. These improvements would make the description more fluent and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and longer sentences, including clauses joined with “while” and “whereas,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. Some grammatical errors nevertheless recur. For example, “households earning… increased…and become” shifts tense; “remained smallest group” is missing an article; and “the number of households earned” uses an incorrect clause structure. The sentence “the $50,000 to $74,999 and $75,000 to $99,999 both groups remained stable” also has faulty word order, while “group was remained” uses an incorrect passive form. Practise building sentences around “the number of households earning…” and maintaining past tense consistently. More accurate control of these patterns would improve clarity.

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